The Argus revealed yesterday how children as young as three are being put through a lottery for school places in Brighton and Hove. Some are being sent to schools two miles from their homes after losing out in the allocation process.
Cottesmore St Mary’s Catholic Primary in The Upper Drive and St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary in London Road, Brighton, have now introduced lotteries.
Mother-of-two Ruth Gottlieb faces a nightmare trip of nearly an hour to take her son to school, with six-month Olivia in tow. The music teacher’s son, Louis, three, missed out on a place at his two nearest primary schools. But instead of walking to either Davigdor Infant or Stanford Infant, they have to use two buses on a journey that takes about 50 minutes each way. With the help of The Argus, Mrs Gottlieb performed a trial run from her home in Bigwood Avenue, Hove, to Fairlight Primary School, in St Leonards Road, Brighton. TIM RIDGWAY reports.
1.03pm – Leaving home in Bigwood Avenue with toddler Olivia
“With two young children it takes about an hour to get sorted in the morning “My husband works away quite a lot so I’m pretty much a single mother at times.
“I don’t have time to get myself ready.
You literally grab the nearest clothes and then you have to be there for your children.
“Olivia is six months old and requires constant attention.”
1.10pm – Arrive at the bus stop in Cromwell Road
“We have two options for buses but those from the nearest stop on Old Shoreham Road are limited to three an hour.
“It’s a bit further to walk to my usual stop.
“The number seven is the main route from Hove into the city centre.
“It’s supposed to come every seven minutes but I once waited half an hour.
“Just the thought of waiting that long with my kids is stressful.
“I know what I feel like when I’m late for nursery.
“At least there they understand what it is like having two young children but with school you have to be there on time for registration.”
1.14pm – Boarding the bus
After a scramble for change Ruth boards the number seven bus into the city centre.
It is standing room only but passengers move to allow Ruth to take a seat near her buggy.
“It’s hard to find room for the buggy and my son.
“He’s quite small for his age so it’s best to find him a seat.
“It’s not the easiest thing moving a buggy around on the bus.
“You sometimes get people complaining about how big they are but I can’t do anything about it.”
1.29pm – Change buses in North Street
Ruth takes a short walk to the bus stop for services to Lewes Road.
She begins to think about the logistics of the return bus journey on a school day.
“It’s £3.60 every day for a return down there.
“I will probably have to buy a season pass but that is £53 for a month.
“I did hear that you can apply for a subsidy if it’s two miles away from my home but this works out at something like 1.8 miles.
“I’d have to find the money for a weekly or monthly bus pass.
“When Olivia gets older I will probably have to sort out nursery for her near Lewes Road.
“And what happens if she gets ill?
“I’ll not be able to travel an hour in each direction with an ill baby.”
1.40pm – Board the bus to Lewes Road
The number 25 is a double decker and has more space to park the buggy.
As Ruth tries to put the brake on, the bus pulls off and she loses balance.
“I used to live in London and there you don’t have to travel this far to go to school.
“You would’ve thought Brighton would be easier.
“It’s funny because when we moved down here we looked at houses around the Lewes Road area.
“If we lived around here it would be no problem.
“I have no problem with the school.
“I’ve been in education all my life and learnt that Ofsted reports are not always a true reflection on a school.”
1.49pm – Get off the bus in Lewes Road
Deep in thought and conversation, Ruth nearly misses her stop.
The bus driver does not see Ruth trying to get past a group of standing passengers.
He begins to pull off until a passenger asks him to let the mother off.
“You can see the problems if you relax. You can nearly miss your stop.
“You have to take time and get the brake off and then manoeuvre the buggy past people.”
1.50pm – Arrive at Fairlight Primary in St Leonards Road
After nearly an hour the journey is complete.
“To find out it’s 50 minutes is a shock.
“That’s in the afternoon and with less traffic on the road.
“It could be a lot longer than that during the morning rush hour.
“For a few months Louis will only be attending school part-time because he was born in August.
“That means I’ll be arriving back home, changing a few nappies and then out the door to pick him up.
“I just don’t know how it will work.”
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